Sochi Day 5: What to Watch

Published February 11, 2014•Updated on February 12, 2014 at 11:55 am

The U.S. women's snowboarding team headed to the halfpipe Wednesday, less than 24 hours after American icon Shaun White broke his Olympic gold medal streak at the same event. Tune in to watch veterans Kelly Clark, Hannah Teter, and rising stars Arielle Gold and Kaitlyn Farrington compete for U.S. redemption at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.

Also tune in as two hockey powerhouses — the U.S. and Canadian women's team — go head-to-head in their first match-up of the Olympics. And for figure skating fans, check out the final pairs competition.

5 a.m. ET CURLING AND HALFPIPE: The U.S. women's curling team took on China (here), while the ladies of the U.S. halfpipe snowboarding team took their first qualifying runs. Those who score high enough will head straight to the meal round (12:30 p.m. ET) while those who don't quite make it get one more chance at the semis (10 a.m. ET) Watch the halfpipe qualifier here.

7:30 a.m. ET HOCKEY AND CROSS-COUNTRY: The two superpowers of women's hockey — the U.S. and Canada — face off for their first Sochi game after trouncing their early competition. (Tune in here) Consider this a preview of the gold medal game, which is expected to be played by these giants. Three other hockey games are on the schedule for the day, but this is one to watch. Catch it online on or the NBC Sports Network.

9 a.m. ET SPEED SKATING: If American speed skating star and four-time Olympic medalist Shani Davis wins a medal in the 1000m race, he will tie a record for most career Olympic medals for an American athlete in the event. (Watch him go for it here.)

10 a.m. ET HALFPIPE SEMI-FINALS: Can the ladies of the U.S. halfpipe team do what Shaun White and his teammates couldn't? Look out for veterans Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter, who have the chops to win the gold, as well as rising starts Arielle Gold and Kaitlyn Farrington. (Watch here.)

12:30 p.m.ET HALFPIPE FINAL: If you only have time for one women's snowboarding event today, this is it. A whittled-down field of competitors get two runs each under the Sochi spotlights for a shot at the medal podium. (Watch here.)